[dusty588]

I was just wondering, the number of people that you think would go to a professional haunt in a city of a little over 1,000,000. There is a haunted house year round in a mall, and in October, there is a haunted corn maze. There are also many small towns surrounding the city. I know this is hard to make an estimate on, but juswt wondering what you think.

:jol:

 

[dave the dead]

if you build it


they will come.

 

[Lilly]

good answer dave

 

[Lilly]

actually you would prob get a good amount of people ...most are looking for new and exciting haunted houses..
do some advertising too

 

[slightlymad]

Build it get the word out and they will come. In our area there are at a min 25 haunted houses hayrides etc and all of them are crowded threw out the season.

 

[dusty588]

Thanks for your thoughts. I am only 16, but it never hurts to start planning early. I was thinking of doing a large trailer haunt, and got from city to city mabey. If not, just stay in the big city, and go to different locations.

 

[dave the dead]

Just do yourself a favor and make sure you check out every possible aspect....safety regulations, permits, zoning, insurance and probably 100 other things that are critical to running a haunt. Advertising is definitely huge, but it sounds like you have the population base for it. Peolpe will hit several good haunts in a night, and if you can establish yourself as one of the "must-do's" you'll do fine. Good luck!

 

[dusty588]

Thanks!

 

[Brckee1]

Dave the dead is right on about all the rules and regulations. Ignore them at your paril.

Typically you can expect to attract one to two percent of the population to a haunted attraction. As far as "build it and they will come". That is not the case. You will need to spend 2 to 3 dollars in marketing costs for each patron you need. that is if you spend it wisely. Most attractions lose money for the first 2 or 3 seasons, at least.
I have a pro haunt, I know many pro haunters and I spend time on pro haunt forums. There may be a few exceptions to this, but I don't know any personally.

 

[infoamtek]

Kelly Allen of Raycliff Manor has just the book you're looking for "So You Want to be a Haunt Entrepreneur". It deals with the business aspects of putting together a pro haunt.